Wow! Did the Pope really characterize the Church’s teachings on abortion, homosexuality and contraception as “small-minded rules” that the Church should get beyond?

That’s what you’d think by scanning the headlines, but the short answer is that the Pope said no such thing. Once again, this was a case of the secular press hyperventilating and taking the Pope’s remarks out of context.

Some in the mainstream media may have even sensed this, for The New York Times quietly changed its dramatic headline to a more moderate one: “Pope, Criticizing Narrow Focus, Calls for Church as ‘Home for All.’”

At the center of the media maelstrom was a 12,000-word interview with Francis arranged by several Jesuit publications around the world. The publications contributed questions, and these were put to Pope Francis in August by Jesuit Father Antonio Spardo, the editor in chief of the Jesuit publication La Civiltà Cattolica.

After the Italian text was approved — apparently by Pope Francis himself — it was then translated and published in different languages, including an English version published by the Jesuit magazine America.

Since we are working across languages, there could always be problems in the translation, though none have yet emerged.

In the interview, Pope Francis discussed a number of subjects. Several of the questions put to him dealt with his membership in the Jesuit order and how it has affected him and his approach as the first Jesuit pope.

While these questions would be of particular interest to a Jesuit audience, they were not the ones that made headlines.

He has quite a number of very interesting things to say in the interview, but, here, let’s look at the passage that grabbed the most press attention — the one that involved abortion, homosexuality and contraception.

This discussion is found in a section where Pope Francis was asked what he thinks the Church most needs at this moment in history.

He responded by saying that what the Church most needs now is the ability to heal wounds, comparing it to a field hospital after a battle. In such a situation, he said, seriously injured patients should not be asked about their cholesterol or blood sugar. Their urgent wounds need to be healed, and then the lesser matters can be discussed.

He then elaborated on an approach that has been apparent in his ministry as pope, stating that the most important thing that the Church needs to communicate is salvation through Jesus Christ. This proclamation of Jesus Christ is the Church’s central message, and people must not lose sight of it.

It is the message of Jesus, the Holy Father said, that “fascinates and attracts more, what makes the heart burn, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus.”

After people have responded to this message, after they have begun to draw closer to Christ, the issues of how we must reform our lives must be discussed. “It is from this proposition [of salvation in Christ] that the moral consequences then flow,” the Pope said.

These moral consequences include the Church’s teaching on abortion, homosexuality and contraception. Pope Francis accepts the Church’s teachings and said that they need to be discussed in context of the larger message of salvation through Christ.

He acknowledged that he has been criticized for not speaking about them much, but his view is that, “when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in context. The teaching of the Church, for that matter, is clear — and I am a son of the Church — but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”

Pope Francis thus expresses a concern that the Church’s larger message is at risk of being overshadowed by important but still lesser issues.

In his way, he is fighting the stereotypes and narratives that the secular media wants to impose on the Church.

In our day, any time a pope says something on these subjects it is easy for the media to paint the Church as a stodgy, outdated institution that is merely anti-abortion, anti-homosexual or anti-contraception.

But, while the Church upholds the Christian vision on each of these topics, they are not its core message. Jesus Christ is — and Pope Francis seems determined to fight the stereotypes and media narratives by starving them of oxygen and returning the central focus to the proclamation of Jesus Christ and to the love and mercy of God.

Once this central message has been seen and appreciated by individuals, so that they are drawn to God and to Christ, the other issues can be discussed in due time.

In the interview, he comments in particular on the role of confessors, stating that they must neither be laxists who claim that sins aren’t sins nor rigorists who emphasize the commandments without taking note of the grace and mercy that God gives us to help us keep them and to forgive us when we have failed.

Instead, he indicates, they must be ministers of God’s mercy who lead the faithful along the path of reforming their lives and growing closer to God.

Pope Francis’ strategy of focusing on the Church’s central message of salvation in Christ, while not devoting the expected amount of attention to “culture war” issues — like abortion, homosexuality and contraception — is a risky one.

It is not an approach that was employed by his immediate predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, but times and circumstances change, and it is his judgment that a back-to-basics approach is needed, rather than a continued focus on the moral flashpoints of contemporary culture.

At the same time, this approach can — and in many parts of the media, has — create the impression that he doesn’t care about these lesser issues.

Time will tell whether this “fight the stereotypes, go with the central message” approach will lead to the results he desires, but it is clear that he is focusing on a grand strategy rather than fighting particular, tactical battles.

He’s counting on the idea that the moral issues will be sorted out, in the long term, by a compelling proclamation of the Church’s central message: Jesus Christ.

Comments

A friend from convent school days has a dying husband in the hospital. We were both good Catholic girls, and she became a nun for seventeen years, but got out, and married another professor. When time comes to reflect upon the afterlife, these questions pop up. Reading Michele’s comments about the Baptist Church service and good ways made me smile, because I, also found Fellowship Bible Church much more accepting of me and my needs than the Catholic Church, and the Baptist Church here has outstanding music, with wonderful “sermons.” I’m thinking of going back to the CatholicChurch, because once a Catholic and you learn about the Body and Blood of Christ in communion, nothing else will satisfy. However, putting up with the politics, and their new ways is most distracting. They talk in church before service, and even eat, because it is to be more of a “community.” Even sin has been dismissed at times into “Just love God,” in some places, but be scared to death in others. I definitely want to go to heaven, but some days I’m not sure. At least, we have a purgatory! My latest reply about such from another “Catholic” who doesn’t believe in confession is that Jesus said “don’t worry,” more than anything. I’m looking that up now, and that’s how I found this. The main thing I have come to believe is one is judged on how much they know. If you definitely think abortions early on is not sinful, perhaps God will forgive you, but if I had one, I know, so I would have to repent. I think Pope Francis and the Divine Mercy Chaplet is heaven sent to guide us.

Posted by Jeff Harris on Sunday, Oct 6, 2013 4:31 AM (EDT):

The people making all the excuses for the Pope about how he didn’t imply/say what the “faithful” thought they heard him imply are of a greatly less number than all the pro-abortionists and LGBT people and their blogs and comments ..who absolutely agree with the faithful that they too heard him imply/say ...what the faithful heard implied/said.

The only people who are “won” over and think the Pope never implied/said the message that both the “faithful” and the anti-Catholics believe they received are the “apologists”.

Posted by Jeff Harris on Sunday, Oct 6, 2013 3:53 AM (EDT):

I really could care less about some ancient Pope who got caught in bed with someone’s wife - and died shortly thereafter. An individual Pope can be ‘bad’ ...wicked etc . He’s a man.

I really DO CARE about some modern Pope who says “Who am I to judge a homosexual man”. That has a million times more affect and implication.

I think Church doctrine for the last 1900 years has been quite doctrinally explicit on homosexuality as a particularly venal and vile sin ...the Scripture has certainly NEVER had a hard time “judging” it. I’m sure the Popes that reigned for the last 200 years ... would be shocked to hear that a Pope claimed he could not judge homosexuality if the “homosexual was “a sincere man of good will”.

That’s like asking if sex with your Mom or Sister can be judged by a Pope - if the man is “sincere and of good will.

Posted by Debbie on Friday, Oct 4, 2013 12:17 AM (EDT):

I’ve attended my parish for six years and have never—even once—from the pulpit heard anything about gay marriage or contraceptives. And except for the occasional time when a layperson got up at the end of Mass to ask the congregation for support and prayers, neither have I heard anything about what is being casually termed the “issue” of abortion. If a leader within any country were promoting the mass murder of any group of people in the world, with the exception of the unborn, no one would dare say, “Oh, I know he believes in genocide, but it’s only one issue.” This strange attitude betrays a deep insensitivity to the intrinsic evil of abortion and devalues human life. To the sensitive soul, it’s quite a lot like saying, “Other than the assassination, Mrs. Lincoln enjoyed the play.”

Posted by Gary O on Tuesday, Oct 1, 2013 12:36 PM (EDT):

John Kanty said:“I miss Pope JPII and Pope Benedict”. I’m starting to feel the same way. I’m wondering where all of this emphasis on abortion and gay marriage and contraception is. You very seldom ever hear them mentioned from the pulpit. Even Cardinal Dolan admitted that these moral issues in this country have been largely ignored. Does that seem like too much emphasis? Over a million innocents each year are ripped from what should be the safest place on earth, their mothers womb. St Faustina said “more souls are lost because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason.” Let’s show compassion and love for the sinner, but I think they need to be told what the consequence of sin is and be told often, not just veil it the message of love and mercy.

Posted by Dale on Monday, Sep 30, 2013 9:32 AM (EDT):

Jcarr: I guess everything is ok then. Time to go out and do anything one feels like doing as much as they feel like it. We can *assume* God’s mercy. Steal! Abort! Whatever you feel like doing because everyone and everything is ok. Hitler and the Saints are equal!

Fits right in with today’s culture.

Posted by Jcarr on Monday, Sep 30, 2013 8:06 AM (EDT):

Amazing. We have here a shepherd that is steering his flock in a very fundamental way. He is telling us to see sinners with pitty and not contempt. This is the man that washed and kissed the feet of a Muslim single mother in the hell of a prison. He lowered himself to the depths of humanity to show us that we can go even lower to find the face of our Lord Jesus. This man is showing us that even an abortionist is a son of God and can be saved if he is shown the mercy of God.

Posted by Father John Trigilio on Friday, Sep 27, 2013 12:46 PM (EDT):

Pope Francis is not downplaying pro-life and pro-family activism in the Church. His words in the secular media were, again, taken out of context. Father Levis, my mentor and co-host of the original Web of Faith on EWTN, often said “a text taken out of context is a pretext.” This is precisely what the New York Times and others in the press have done.

In the actual interview, the CONTEXT of the Pope’s words are:

We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.

This is true and Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul the Great and even Pope Pius XII would have agreed. The whole deposit of faith is not limited to particular moral issues. Faith and morals encompass human sexuality and issues of human life, marriage and the family, but they also include the dogma of the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Real Presence, Papal Infallibility, the Immaculate Conception, et al. The Catechism covers all four pillars of faith: CREED (doctrine), SACRAMENTS (worship), COMMANDMENTS (morality), OUR FATHER (prayer)

Pope Francis did not discount the efforts of the pro-life, pro-family and pro-marriage movements and organizations. What he was saying was that the universal church has a three-fold mission or mandate: to TEACH the truth (Magisterium); to SANCTIFY the People of God (Sacred Liturgy); to SHEPHERD the sheep in love (Hierarchy). All three come from the one and same Jesus Christ Who founded Holy Mother Church. As Christ was Priest, Prophet and King, so His bride continues His work of sanctifying, teaching and governing. I did not read anywhere in the entire interview where the Pontiff was denying or diminishing the Church’s three-fold munera. He was placing everything in CONTEXT, however.

Saving Souls is the supreme law of the Church. The last canon in the 1983 Code of Canon Law says so. Getting folks to heaven. One essential element is TEACHING and defending the revealed truths of doctrine. That is not enough, however. The rational intellect seeks the true and the free will seeks the good. Original Sin, however, has wounded human nature and that extends to the soul itself. Concupiscence is the darkening of the intellect, weakening of the will and disordering of the lower passions. Only divine grace can remedy that to enlighten the intellect and strengthen the will. Sacrament are necessary for salvation in addition to revealed truth. The formula is not complete, however, without the other component. Sheep need a shepherd. The People of God need leaders. Not overlords and masters, but pastoral leaders who govern with charity and love, compassion and mercy.

Salvation involves the intellect, the will and both body and soul. It is personal and it is communal. Baptism makes us a child of God and a member of the Church. The Church is necessary for salvation for she has been entrusted with the fullness of grace (all seven sacraments) and the fullness of truth (Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition). Pope Francis did not negate these realities in any way, shape or form.

When Jesus met the woman caught in adultery, He did not condemn her but He did save her, not just her physical life but He saved her immortal soul when He said “go, and sin no more.” This is what Pope Francis is doing. Not throwing stones but showing mercy. Mercy is NOT cooperating with evil, formally or materially. Mercy is not being tolerant nor permissive of immorality. Mercy is being patient and forgiving with sinners who are in need of repentance and forgiveness. Like the father of the Prodigal son, the Holy Father is merely saying the Church, as a good mother, waits for her wayward children to come home. The father does not pursue the son and drag him home kicking and screaming. He does welcome him back after the son expresses his regret and asks forgiveness.

Pro-life supporters keep defending the innocent lives of the unborn. This must be done. All the Pope was asking is that we lovingly, mercifully and compassionately encourage those who have had abortions to REPENT and be RECONCILED with God. We can and must CONDEMN the sin without condemning the sinner. People are not evil but they can do evil deeds. Those deeds must be judged and evaluated against the natural moral law and the divine law of God as found in revealed truth. The persons who commit evil need prayer. They need love. Their evil actions are not who they are. They are children of God who have gone astray. They are prodigal children who need to come to their senses.

Pope Benedict XVI said so often and so aptly, Catholicism is not a religion of EITHER/OR, she is the religion of BOTH/AND. We can love the sinner and hate the sin. We can be pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-family and still show mercy and compassion to those who disagree and who even work against us. Defending the defenseless is not an option, it is a moral imperative. HOW it is done is just as important as DOING it.

The Catholic Church is 100% pro-life, pro-family and pro-traditional marriage. Her doctrines on faith and morals will not and cannot change. The entire package, the truth, the grace, and the HOPE that the Church provides is what Pope Francis is accentuating. He is not throwing the Church under the bus. He is not denying nor diluting the faith and he is not asking the faithful to stop working for justice, especially for the end of abortion and euthanasia. He is just reminding us of the WHOLE BIG PICTURE of Salvation. Preach the truth, make grace available and lead the people by good example. Unlike some who are trying to make Pope Francis a seamless garment pontiff, he already said not all church teachings are equivalent. There is a HIERARCHY of truth. The right to life is the most fundamental and foundational issue of our time. It is not the only issue for religious liberty is close behind. CONTEXT is crucial. Our faith is a tapestry of teachings, devotions, spiritualities, traditions, rituals, rites, etc. It is not an alphabet soup, however, where everything is chaotically mixed up. Saving souls is the bottom line and the more we save the more we please God. Sharing the truth is one step but there are more that are needed. We just need to follow the lead of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. She was unabashedly and unequivocally PRO-LIFE and PRO-FAMILY. She defended Humanae Vitae and she taught NFP. She saved babies from abortion but she also helped pregnant women, people suffering AIDS and all other kinds of diseases. She helped the poor wherever they were and she helped the those who were spiritually poor as well as those who were materially poor. All done in love, charity and mercy. What threat is that to the faith? Pope Francis did not give a carte blanche to commit fornication, adultery, homosexuality, abortion, euthanasia, et al. He is reaching out to the fornicators and adulterers as did Our Divine Lord and urge them to abandon their sins and follow the path of virtue. He reminds clergy (bishops especially) that ordination is not a career nor a job, it is a vocation and a mission. Teaching and defending the truth is one of our mandates but we are also ordained to offer sacrifice, to console, to counsel, to advise, to solace, to bless, to sanctify, to absolve and to lead. If these are done with mercy and compassion, they can be done without compromising the truth and without cheapening grace.

Posted by William Zwaagstra on Friday, Sep 27, 2013 12:31 AM (EDT):

I am from another -faith , and not enough is talked about the issue(s) of Genocide /murder (abortion ) of
the Unborn -Life-Child , We must take every opportunity to speak for the RIGHTS of the UNBORN ,never
let them down . The world press ,is generally an enemy of the unborn ,and will twist our words to
suite their cause !
Bill Zwaagstra

Posted by Dale on Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:48 AM (EDT):

@tom: well said. :) If it were easy to be in our Faith, we would be Protestants. <joking> But very well said.

Posted by Janet O'Connor on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2013 10:17 PM (EDT):

The problem is here in my opinion that since Vatican II there has been a shift from dogma or doctrine to pastoral dialogue and collegiality. But my question is has it worked in the last fifty years? I am afraid the answer is no. BTW this Pope was not present at the Council so he probably just got to read the documents and sad to say many were written in deliberately vague language so they could be interpreted differently. On Francis his attitudes toward the traditionalists are more disturbing given his actions to the FFI and the Latin Mass. Five church lawyers who are Italian said this was a Grave or serious action that overrode not only Benedict XVI but even Pope St Pius V. This issue must be faced now.

Posted by Tom in AZ on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2013 9:10 PM (EDT):

@Dale: Are Satan worshippers welcome in the Church? Hmm, I don’t know. Are paid assassins for the Pharisees? Because St. Paul sure seemed to think so. Are Manicheans who fathered several illegitimate children? St. Augustine sure seemed to think so. I can go on really. “All are welcome in the Church”—but repentance is a condition for its salvific grace, for cradle Catholics as much as anyone else. That’s what Francis was saying, and you have to make Jacques Derrida look like a strict constructionist to claim otherwise.

Posted by Dale on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2013 6:14 PM (EDT):

As a result of the Pope’s interview, NARAL, pro abortion women are thanking him on their website right on the front. He must think of how he is taken before we are told to tolerate and “love” satan worshippers.

With this culture, we must not give one millimeter. We know Jesus is love etc. But the culture is confused as to who He is and why sin is sin. I for one am tired of turning an eye away from sin that the culture advocates. Not standing against sin, like not standing again nazis and islamic terror, only strengthens it. He must be clear. Succinct and tough as any leader must be or the churches will empty more than they have.

Posted by Dan Kennedy on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2013 6:00 PM (EDT):

“...seriously injured patients should not be asked about their cholesterol or blood sugar. Their urgent wounds need to be healed, and then the lesser matters can be discussed.” One major problem, you won’t seek out the hospital if you don’t think you are seriously injured.

Posted by Dale on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2013 3:35 PM (EDT):

Is everything ok then? Are satan worshippers part of the “everyone is welcome and ok?” If everything is ok, then the church is not necessary and all should leave it. At what point is sin not ok?

Posted by AGiuffre on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2013 2:38 PM (EDT):

He is simply changing the conversation. He is not changing the church. I welcome this renewed attention to the true work of the church and that is salvation through Jesus. It is not about hey God loves me, so I can do anything. It is reminding everyone that yes God loves me and he saved me. Now what can I do to be grateful and bring him into my heart. That is where those “small” moral issues will be faced and people will need to make a choice. But never will God ever love them less or withdraw his offer of salvation. We have a choice to make and the church is the place we should ALL be welcomed whether we are sinners or not. It is not the place for us to be judged. It is the place for us to be saved.

Posted by stephen on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2013 12:22 PM (EDT):

@R.W.E. Smith: It often seems like hell (end even purgatory)have disappeared.

It doesn’t just “seem” that way it IS that way. Over 40 years ago the Church decided, for “pastoral” reasons, to almost completely excise our fallen nature, our constant sinfulness, our incredible need for God’s Grace, the reality of individual/general judgment and Purgatory and hell, and our dire need to constantly supplicate God for forgiveness, for Grace, and for mercy from the Novus Ordo Mass especially to the Propers, the changeable prayers. The Church wanted to shift from the “negative” approach of the past to a much more “positive” presentation of the Faith tailored to the mindset of contemporary man.
Highly recommend:
“Iota Unum: A Study of Changes in the Catholic Church in the Twentieth Century [Paperback] Romano Amerio (Author), John P. Parsons (Translator)”
Work of Human Hands: A Theological Critique of the Mass of Paul VI Paperback by Rev. Anthony Cekada (Author)

Posted by Stephen on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2013 9:01 AM (EDT):

@kithri: “I returned to the Lord six years ago. I woke up, thinking I was coming back to the Catholic Church and instead found myself in the Church of Kafka, where it is _de rigueur_ to turn a blind eye to blatant sin and overt evil. Those who don’t, are labeled “right wingers.” The very few voices out there who do speak about abortion, contraception, and homosexuality are very nearly the ONLY voices speaking about them. No one says “Boo!” in my diocese, much less carps on them, much less from the pulpit, and so much as less as to be ludicrous, from the chair at the cathedral. I don’t think my experience is unusual, either. Those few voices are essential and shouldn’t be silenced, lest we completely lose our way.”

Dear kithri, thank you for injecting reality into the discussion. Perhaps one day reality will pierce the protective bubble of denial the Church Hierarchy and a good portion of laity have been hiding behind for decades. I didn’t know words like “peace. love, joy, & don’t judge” could be used so effectively to hide widespread rot in the Church.

Posted by Thomas on Tuesday, Sep 24, 2013 10:51 PM (EDT):

Oh, Francis!

Two thousand years of martyrdom by those who stood up for and defended both the Catholic FAITH and the Catholic conscience.

In a few words you have made their sacrifices meaningless.

Oh, Francis!

Posted by DeCarlo on Tuesday, Sep 24, 2013 1:17 PM (EDT):

All those disenchanted with the Novus Ordo missae and its lack of meaningful sermons, attend a Latin mass and listen to the sermons. You will hear about evil, the devil, mortal sin, confession, homosexuality, same sex marriage, all those issues that you don’t hear at the Novus Ordo mass. I have been attending for 10 years and I will not attend another Novus Ordo missae, unless absolutely necessary. The liberals have hijacked the church during Vatican II.

Posted by Margaret O'Hagan on Tuesday, Sep 24, 2013 3:43 AM (EDT):

Instead of the comments about abortion, homosexuality or contraception (which are subjects most of us have not heard from the pulpit in years!) why not the truth and beauty of Humanae Vitae? Why is it not promoted?... because all these abovementioned evils are consequences of non-observance of this beautifully profound Teaching of the Church.
The other concern I have is that when nations are electing their leaders, is not the right to life the number one issue? Could Pope Francis have muddied the waters here?

Posted by Louis Cote on Monday, Sep 23, 2013 7:55 PM (EDT):

Thank Jimmy for your article. I agree with Francis that Jesus is central to our Catholic faith. For example, let’s look at the abortion issue. Many non-Christians are pro-life. One does not need to believe in Jesus to defend human life in the womb. Christians come to this issue, not purely on moral and philosophical grounds. They see these little ones as “one of the least” of the brothers. So… because of Jesus, that little unborn baby is more than another human, but a brother to be loved.

Posted by Dale on Monday, Sep 23, 2013 1:27 PM (EDT):

The Pope’s comments are a given. From my understanding, he is focusing on love of Christ, etc. This is important but it’s a given.

In today’s culture, we are in a spiritual battle. Evil is winning the culture. In the last decade alone, we have seen less rights for the religious while, for example, the homosexuals have taken over the culture spitting on God. In this context, Pope Francis seems to be saying, “stick your head in the sand.”

For purpose of analogy only, it’s like saying in 1940, “we need to focus less on the sin of the Nazis and more on the love.” It seems to be the same old thing like our government on Islamic terrorism, “ignore it and it will go away.” Islamic terror has only gained strength by ignoring it.

Posted by tg on Monday, Sep 23, 2013 1:17 PM (EDT):

Tony, don’t leave the church. Pope Francis is not the head of the Church - Jesus Christ is. Popes come and go. As long as Pope Francis doesn’t official change church doctrine or dogmas, we’re ok. I feel tired of defending him to. I just saw an ad where NARAL publically thanked Pope Francis - it was signed pro choice women everywhere. I know the strong statement he issued Friday was not out in the secular media. We should just pray for him and trust that God is in control of his church.

Posted by Amber on Monday, Sep 23, 2013 9:35 AM (EDT):

This article is completely nonsense and has no scientific or basic fact to back it up. “Since we are working across languages, there could always be problems in the translation, though none have yet emerged.” How does that sound legit? The facts that come from news sources such as CBS, USA Today, and especially New York Times have more credibility in one sentence than this entire article. How can the “National Catholic Register” have more credibility and not be as biased in this sense than the other news sources. They are writing about the church! They are biased. People who read this article and believe it are only shadowing their views even more by ignoring the full truth that is presented right before their eyes.

Bob wrote, “Our souls are saved by doing God’s will to the very best of our ability.”

But St Paul says, “For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it. God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do.” (Eph 2:8-10) Again, he says, “He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of His own mercy” (Tit 3:5)

How do you reconcile your view with his?

Posted by Jane on Monday, Sep 23, 2013 4:07 AM (EDT):

For every one person who reads Jimmy’s explication of what the pope really meant one thousand will read only the MSM reports. Someone who is press savvy should really speak to the pope and suggest that he limit his off the cuff comments and perhaps runs his replies by those who know what the MSM is capable of. That way we may not need Jimmy and others to put an orthodox explanation on what the pope does and doesn’t say.

Posted by Russell Schiwal on Monday, Sep 23, 2013 12:07 AM (EDT):

This article was a breath of fresh air. I suspected the quote was a misinterpretation, and I was right, but with a pope this popular in the media I confess I feared the worst in him and felt betrayed before I knew all the facts.
Still, his isn’t the first time I have questioned whether this pope is truly humble, or acts truly humble to a receptive media.
Either way, I will support my shepherds. and the Pope is still my Pope.

Posted by Cortez on Sunday, Sep 22, 2013 8:02 PM (EDT):

In the interview Pope Francis said that Fellini’s “La Strada” was his favorite movie? If any one has ever watched Fellini’s stuff one could only conclude that it is one big powerful wall of evil. When Fellin’s movie “La Dolce Vita” came out the Vatican denounced it as disgusting and immoral.

I did read the entire interview but I was not present at the interview
nor do I speak Italian so I do not know if it was tampered with. I’m
not into conspiracies or looking for things wrong with the Pope but his Fellini statement leaves me confounded.

Posted by Joanp62 on Sunday, Sep 22, 2013 7:54 PM (EDT):

Tony, I agree with you, but don’t leave the Church. It is still the Church founded by Christ, and has the fullness of Truth. What I don’t care for is what appears to be a dismissal of abortion, contraception and gay marriage as a ‘culture war’. They are much more than that, if we are correctly understanding the Church’s teachings on these matters. They are grave sins that are current issues in today’s world, that the secular world is fighting to make more ‘normal’ and more prevalent. We should not and must not be silent about these issues because the secular world is certainly not silent about them. In my deepest soul it seems to me that it would be sinful to put these issues on the back burner so to speak.

I know what the Pope is trying to say, but as far as I can tell, those who are “in the trenches” with regard to these issues are very much aware of the importance of bringing the Love of Christ to others. To me, it seems like a papal kick in the teeth to imply that these Catholic/Christians are complacent by focusing on these things. They are anything but.

Posted by Mario on Sunday, Sep 22, 2013 7:33 PM (EDT):

Pope Francis is a genius I am not taking anything away from his predecessors…but Francis will bring back many fallen away Catholics to the Church. I am no Church expert…all i know is that my friend, who has been away from the Church for many years, is finally going back to Mass and confession because she loves this Pope and loves to hear the teachings of the Faith in a very simple manner that is easy to understand and reaches out to lost souls like here. we are living in great times! let’s enjoy it, and keep fighting for the Kingdom of Christ with Pope Francis leading the way! Viva Jesus!

Posted by Trish Crew on Sunday, Sep 22, 2013 6:24 PM (EDT):

I am so thankful for Pope Francis! St. Francis heard God’s call to rebuild His Church and I believe that Pope Francis is doing the same thing, bringing us back around to the kind of Christianity that can re-evangelize those who have heard the Church’s teachings on moral issues and aren’t happy but challenged or convicted. The kind of Christianity that goes into slums and boardrooms and meets hurting people where we all live.

I think it is time for us to leave the classroom, take our heads out of the Vatican II documents and actually put them into practice. I am glad that Pope Francis is holding up the Cross for us to follow.

Posted by bmerciful on Sunday, Sep 22, 2013 12:27 PM (EDT):

It is clear from the many negative reactions posted here that some Catholics are not yet able to distinguish between religion and faith. Faith is a gift directly from God who “teaches us all we need to know” (John 14:26). Religion represents the collective teachings of the church. If our beliefs are based on what the church, Pope, priest, latest encyclical, or Catechism teaches then we may have reason to be confused and concerned. If we find that our beliefs are being threatened by others such as what the secular press has to say about the teachings of the church then we may have every reason to be confused and concerned. If we are restorationist, a legalist, and want everything clear and safe and expressed in absolutes, then according to Pope Francis we may have found religion but not faith. If we become too focused on the sins of others or ourself than according to Pope Francis we may have forgotten that “God love is greater than sin”. If we are unable to distinguish between faith and religion then we have simply forgotten to call upon God’s necessary gift of discernment.
Finally, Pope Francis is merely suggesting that we have become too focussed on ‘issues’ rather than on “God’s gift of love, profound peace, spiritual consolation, and love of all things in God—let these be your sign that you are on the right path.”

Posted by Kithri on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 9:53 PM (EDT):

I feel betrayed by the pontiff. What church is he referring to? What people are constantly and only talking about abortion, contraception, and homosexuality? Is he joking? Is he on drugs? I returned to the Lord six years ago. I woke up, thinking I was coming back to the Catholic Church and instead found myself in the Church of Kafka, where it is _de rigueur_ to turn a blind eye to blatant sin and overt evil. Those who don’t, are labeled “right wingers.”

The very few voices out there who do speak about abortion, contraception, and homosexuality are very nearly the ONLY voices speaking about them. No one says “Boo!” in my diocese, much less carps on them, much less from the pulpit, and so much as less as to be ludicrous, from the chair at the cathedral. I don’t think my experience is unusual, either.

Those few voices are essential and shouldn’t be silenced, lest we completely lose our way.

Posted by St. Longinus on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 9:49 PM (EDT):

@Maria——my experience is first you need to respect and have a healthy fear of your Father. Then you can learn about His mercy. Without the respect for His laws and health fear of His Judgments, you cannot understand His mercy. It has been 2000 years since Christ’s coming and His “loving message” has been transmitted throughout the world…there aren’t anymore people on Earth who are ignorant of the message AND yet we have the worst immorality running rampant all over the world. Sorry, Maria, your assessment of the situation is naive. The pope’s words were not taken out of context; not this time and not any of the previous times. He is theologically inept and unfortunately will probably not keep his mouth shut from here on it because his purpose is to wreak havoc on what is left of the visible Catholic Church. The next step is the dissolution of the Vatican Bank and it’s assets will go directly to a small patch of land off of the Levant Basin. The enemies of Christ are in possession of the buildings but they can never possess the Faith.

Posted by pamela on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 7:45 PM (EDT):

Focusing on the love for Jesus as the most important aspect of being Catholic..is seemingly what has already been happening since Vatican 11. The Pope by his words seems to be re-enforcing that non-specific, generic focus that has resulted in so many having left the Catholic Church. Moral relativism leads many towards other forms of Christianity..As the leader of the Catholic Church, I should think this Pope would be much more desirous of clarifying, with specificity, just what the teachings of the Church are and the reasons why they are the absolute Truth. As a convert from Judaism , I came to this truth by way of Messianic Judaism. After 5 years of Bible Study, it became clear to me that Catholicism “completed” me. Maybe it is because I came to know Christ “late in life” , as St Augustine, but the fire that burns in me to know Him and discern what He wants of me, is continually “fed” by the true teachings of Catholicism. Since completion and Baptism, my only disappointment, has been in the lack of Catechisis . Most lay Catholics that I have encountered know very little about their Faith. The homilies are always focused on “social justice”..never, never have I ever heard a Homily in my Parish focusing on the intrinsic evils of abortion, the reasons why the Church is against contraception, so called same sex marriage..or anything other than this generic “love” that the Pope speaks of. There is such beauty to this Truth of Jesus..why is it not taught?? Jesus has told us this would not be easy..Some of the Scriptural references that were posted elsewhere speak precisely of this. Yes , we are called to witness to the Gospel of Christ.. if we are to emulate Christ and His disciples, we can not be fearful of His Truth..we cannot omit this Truth, nor alter it just to attract more people into the Church. It is the very beauty of the Truth that brought about the conversion of so many after listening to St. Peter and St. Paul. Jesus says He knows who His sheep are..and He calls to them..Yes, He is there for all, Jew, Gentile, and Pagan..He is there for all of us sinners..but it is only by dying to ourselves , that we are reborn in Him. There is no interpretation of the Pope’s words that can lessen the sadness I feel by his apparent disdain for those of us who are actively involved in bringing an end to abortion, through constant prayer and charity, yearning to be “fed” and praying for the salvation of souls who are being led astray by the ambivalence of Clergy who refuse to even speak of sin. God Bless Cardinal Raymond Burke and the others who are committed to the Truth. This Pope called for a worldwide day of prayer and fasting for peace in Syria, ( in which I participated) yet is he unaware of the words of Mother Teresa ...There can never be peace, as long as we live in a world where mothers are encouraged to murder their own children. This is not an insignificant issue , one to be put on the side while we “focus” on “love”. Those who are catechized already know that we are called to love as Christ loves us..the problem is with those who are not properly catechized..and this will remain the same as long as the Pope continues to speak as he has thus far. Very disheartening.

Posted by Sue on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 6:56 PM (EDT):

Reading all these comments makes me truly wonder if our new Pope realizes the full impact of his words. If we have this much confusion from inside the church it’s no wonder the media is having a field day.

Posted by Patt on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 3:05 PM (EDT):

My understanding is that Pope Francis did not want to be Pope—so maybe he can do as his predecessor and retire early, say on Monday? It will be acceptable to me.

Posted by bmerciful on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 1:23 PM (EDT):

Having read the Pope’s interview ‘A Big Heart Open to God’ with Antonio Spadaro, J.S. I hear the Holy Father say:

“Instead of blaming the secular media for all our ills, why don’t we look for ways to dialogue with them. Instead of judging others with respect to matters such as abortion, homosexuality, contraception, etc. why don’t we heal the open wounds they have created among the People of God?”

Posted by Maria on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 12:33 PM (EDT):

I pray for the pope. The media took his words out of context.
The pope is realigning the church back to the time of the apostles. He is giving us back the true message of the gospel. It is in our faith in Jesus, that person-to-person, that one-on-one relationship with our Lord that will transform us. It is in knowing who he really is, especially His goodness and mercy that will make us repent,turn our backs to sin and be healed. He will give us His Holy Spirit to guide, move and empower us to do His will. His will includes all the church has been fighting like abortion, etc. “All this will fall into place…” We will do what the church has been teaching us because we now will be responding to Jesus’ love and not to do’s-and-don’ts. Focusing on Jesus will make us understand better yet open our hearts as to why God the Father has given His only son to us to save us…and then pass this loving message to the world - which will transform the world.

Posted by tony on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 11:21 AM (EDT):

Jimmy, PLEASE keep writing on this interview. Even though I agree with 95% of the pope’s deeper meaning, I am seriously thinking about leaving the church over this approach. I have had enough. The little phrases that are so easy to misconstrue will be used in this country to advance the secular culture at every turn.

Second, where is this obsession on disjointed rules of abortion, contraception and homosexual ACTS. In 40 yrs, I have NEVER heard a sermon on the sinfulness of either contraception or homosexual ACTS. (I have heard maybe 10 sermons on the beauty and sanctity of traditional marriage. This was in response to my state’s decision to redefine marriage NOT to isolate individuals.) For abortion, the sermon was always about the tragedy of the ACT NOT the sinfulness of the person.

Third, does the pope have to believe and profess every negative stereotype that the press promotes about the church? St Paul says that we engaged not with “flesh and blood” but with “powers and principalities”???? Does the press or the world have any unquestioned allegiances to any suppositions that lead them away from Christ? or is it only those who struggle to be faithful?

Finally, the pope should listen to his own words….“When you express too much, you run the risk of being misunderstood (on purpose)”

Posted by Helen on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 11:19 AM (EDT):

I read the entire interview and I agree completely with this article. I believe that Pope Francis is challenging us all to fall in love with Jesus Christ. Until we do that, everything else is just technicalities. I can understand how people who have been “fighting the culture war” may feel abandoned or unappreciated, but those feelings come from the ego and should be resolved. Catholics who question the Pope on these issues are missing out on the opportunity to grow in faith. Sometimes, when the Holy Spirit speaks, we do not like what is said. It is on us to work through it and reconcile ourselves with the church. Pray for Francis, but pray also for Jesus to open your heart to his message.

Posted by Michael Marshall on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 9:06 AM (EDT):

Pope Francis is doing the correct thing by focusing on the the true message of the Church but the media types will always get it wrong because they believe The Catholic needs to be marginalized for what they perceive non-conformist attitude of the Church. Pope Francis has it correct the Church shall keep to the message of salvation through Christ which the media doesn’t want to hear. The Media really want to the church to adhear to the world view on everything which will never happen.

Posted by Bob on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 8:49 AM (EDT):

Pope Francis is taking the wrong tack and needs to be counseled. We must become far more vocal in our defense of the unborn, the homosexual propaganda, and the violence & filth of the entertainment industry. I would suggest four things. First, at every mass, in addition to announcing bingo night, our churches should address current cultural issues and provide specific instruction on combating the current evil. Second, at every mass, I would suggest that our leaders start calling for boycotts of commercial enterprises that sponsor “entertainment” that is contrary to God’s teachings. Third, in the next elections, our leaders should publically excommunicate “Catholic” politicians like Joe Biden who take positions contrary to our faith until such time as they request forgiveness and renounce those positions. Finally, we should ask parishioners who continue to purchase from boycotted commercial enterprises or who vote contrary to their faith to forgo receiving the Eucharist. If we become more vocal(in a loving way, of course), we will attract more people and, in the process, save more souls. Our souls are saved by doing God’s will to the very best of our ability…“thy will be done on earth as it tis in Heaven.”

Posted by R.W.E. Smith on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 1:01 AM (EDT):

I have read the original interview, and only the headlines in the main steam media.

A poster above (Turley?)mentioned a point that has been bothering me: “Pope Francis is right. We need to focus on the message of salvation through our Lord and Savior.”

There are two areas I find disturbing here:
1. Once again, we hear the word “salvation” but NEVER a mention of salvation from WHAT? It often seems like hell (end even purgatory)have disappeared.
2. The Church’s dogmas and activities in fighting abortion and the normalization of homosexual acts are both acts of LOVE. We cannot simply leave the world to deal with its sin when we have been given so much. Much is expected from us. Very much indeed.

My trust is in our Lord God. I trust that everything that happens in the universe is either willed by God or allowed by God. God instigated these remarks (or allowed them) because it is ultimately for the good of our immortal souls.

Pray for our Pope and for our world!

Posted by Esther Davis on Saturday, Sep 21, 2013 12:55 AM (EDT):

It seems to me that this Pope is bypassing any discussions on these popular issues the same as the last few Popes, and that the public and media are obsessed with. I have a feeling that one of these days, in Pope Francis’ own time, he will be issuing one of those “Documents” on these issues, and am afraid that everyone is going to be highly disappointed when it all comes out that there will be no changes in anything re: these issues on abortion, contraception and homosexuality. BECAUSE, they have been taught since day one in the Catholic Church. Accept it everyone, because that’s the way it is, and always will be. Amen—-

I am greatly troubled when it has to be explained to the Catholics and the world what the Holy Father really said and what he really meant. THIS IS TRUE PARTICULARLY WHEN THE LIBERAL MEDIA TRIES TO REDUCE TO SOUNDBITES WHAT THE HOLY FATHER SAID. If at all possible, such opportunities for the liberal media must be avoided. I could say much more but refrain from doing so. I will try to be as charitable as possible and remind all Catholics especially, that Our Lady of Fatima asked us to pray much for the Holy Father. And those of us who are delighted by the Holy Father’s remarks, as well as those of us who were scandalized PERHAPS BECAUSE WE WERE EXPOSED TO A FAULTY TRANSLATION OR WERE UNAWARE OF THE CONTEXT should pray for His Holiness harder than we ever did.

“@Ernst—Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. I’ll trust in the Holy Spirit over the complaints of naysayers like yourself any day.”

Atta boy, Ron, you just keep trusting in the Holy Spirit. Now if we could only feel confident that the Holy Spirit is trusting in you. :-)

Posted by francis chukwuani on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:48 PM (EDT):

May God bless the author of this article on the EWTN facebook - it clearly explains the holy father’s message by a vivid description of the context. I feel very relieved by this article in the context of what is being disseminated by the secular press.
We need more articles like this and I completely admire the holy father’s approach in focusing on Christ - who was accused of dining with tax collectors and sinners. God is love and the mission of Christ epitomized that love and that is what we are called upon to live out as followers of Christ and that is what Pope Francis is focusing on!
His message can only make sense to those who are truely determined to live a life of genuine love - “appreciation of reality as it is with an intent to perfection rather than perversion” -
1. appreciation of the strenght and weakness in our fellow human beings with an intent to make them better, rather than taking advantage of their weakness to make ourselves “look good”;
2. appreciation of our own strenght and weakness with an intent to become better human beigns rather than giving up or remaining hopeless in the midst of our weakness
3. appreciation of our weakness and childlike surrender to the grace of God to perfect us by remaining steadfast in prayer and hope.

Posted by Rosemarie Kury on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:41 PM (EDT):

Michelle, I would have changed parishes. We did because of the pastors love love love thing and joined a more orthodox Catholic Church and have never regretted it. Furthermore, I think I’d have asked the pastor why your grandchildren were receiving such lax religious training, and if he didn’t give a good explanation , contacted the bishop. A friendly community, like your Baptist Church is nice, but not crucial to your salvation. Aren’t there any Bible Catholic groups in your area?

Many Catholic Churches have social events, women’s groups that could satisfy your desire for socialization and cry rooms for infants during Mass.

Finally, the Eucharist, not the preaching is the center of the Mass. Many times I get bored with it also, but in charity usually get a little something out of it. If you are attending Mass each week, I’d try and do something else instead of attending the Baptist Church. Maybe even saying the Rosary with your grandkids.

Posted by Rex on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 9:59 PM (EDT):

The Pope gives a homily to 3 million people and then a long interview on the flight back and all the media notices is the comment on homosexuality. He gives a 10,000 word interview and all they notice are the comments on homosexuality and abortion. It is clear who is obsessed with those topics. The media. Not the Church. They remind me of adolescent boys taking a biology class. The first thing some do is comb through the text book to find any mention about sex and then they excitedly share what they found with their buddies. It’s time to grow up.

Posted by Mary Wagner on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 9:30 PM (EDT):

I think we need to trust the Pope that he knows what he’s doing.He’s guided by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is stirring things up a bit. It’s happened before. Maybe this is the work of God. His approach sounds real different from what we’ve heard previously, and I think he’s telling us Catholics what we have to hear, not necessarily what we want to hear. His words make us uncomfortable, so be it. Let’s pay attention and see if there is something we can learn here instead of raising immediate objections.Perhaps in this anti-Catholic, Christian society we need another approach. My suggestion is that we follow his example in meeting others with the love of Christ first. He’s not contradicting Church teaching; he’s not advocating minimizing or watering down the faith or doctrines. I believe he’s showing us another way that is more authentic,and in the long run, more effective.

I repeat my comment that I posted elsewhere to touch base with the Jimmy Akin crowd . I apologize to the NCR readers who may have sen my comment elsewhere.I am greatly troubled when it has to be explained to the Catholics and the world what the Holy Father really said and what he really meant. THIS IS TRUE PARTICULARLY WHEN THE LIBERAL MEDIA TRIES TO REDUCE TO SOUNDBITES WHAT THE HOLY FATHER SAID. If at all possible, such opportunities for the liberal media must be avoided. I could say much more but refrain from doing so. I will try to be as charitable as possible and remind all Catholics especially, that Our Lady of Fatima asked us to pray much for the Holy Father. And those of us who are delighted by the Holy Father’s remarks, as well as those of us who were scandalized PERHAPS BECAUSE WE WERE EXPOSED TO A FAULTY TRANSLATION OR WERE UNAWARE OF THE CONTEXT should pray for His Holiness harder than we ever did.

Human beings are all like a puff of breath;
great and small alike are worthless.
.
Put them on the scales, and they weigh nothing;
they are lighter than a mere breath.
.
10 Don’t put your trust in violence;
don’t hope to gain anything by robbery;
even if your riches increase,
don’t depend on them.
.
11 More than once I have heard God say
that power belongs to him
12 and that his love is constant.
You yourself, O Lord, reward everyone according to their deeds.
(cf Psalm 62)

Posted by Jean Doten on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 7:39 PM (EDT):

Jimmy, thank you for your for calm, clarifying voice. Phil, you wrote what I was going to say. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church “Where sin has perverted the social climate, it is necessary to call for the conversion of hearts and appeal to the grace of God. Charity urges just reforms. There is no solution to the social question apart from the Gospel.” (CCC 1896) It seems to me His Holiness is spot on. (I recommend looking into the Chapter on Human Community) Michele-You also said something that points out a problem in or church that should not be minimized. Yes we have the sacraments, the Eucharist, but is the Church “converting the hearts” of our young people, our families? Something is seriously wrong, and I think something radical will have to happen before it gets set right. I think maybe Pope Francis is the agent of the Holy Spirit chosen to sow the seeds of these radical changes. I also think we need to aspire to an attitude of trust, hope, and prayer.

Posted by alexislivia on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 7:29 PM (EDT):

Very good, Jimmy. Catholic Vote posted an excellent piece by Stephen White on this topic, too: Old, Good News
by Stephen White, CatholicVote.org

Posted by Theresa on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 7:17 PM (EDT):

It follows, then, that “social justice” issues are also to be viewed in relationship to salvation in Christ. Social justice as an end in itself can develop into communism or socialism.

Posted by sleepyhead on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 7:09 PM (EDT):

for those combating abortions and other things (ssm, birth control, etc)...
...
what the Pope is saying is this: GREET them with love, TELL them if theyre sorry Jesus has forgiven them, and TAKE them to Mass (preferably - any church will do, in spite of them not getting the whole message out there)
...
DO NOT discuss any thing else with them!
...
GO WITH THEM - don’t put roadblocks in front of them…
...
if your own daughter opts for abortion, you STAND with her, you LOVE her, and try to get abortion OUT of your mind… say the rosary, don’t blame her…
...
tell her again and again how much you love her - not in past tense, but present AND future sense…
...
I love my daughters…all 3 of them think im Catholic, therefore every little thing they do, they do wrong… I tell them “no, not wrong things you do or have done - I love you, my pagan/Baptist/atheistic daughter”...
...
don’t hide your saying rosary, don’t hide your Bible, don’t hide you go to Church… but don’t rub their faces in it…
...
tell them Jesus loves you more than I can… and leave it up to Him to change their hearts…

Posted by Bob on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 7:09 PM (EDT):

“After people have responded to this message, after they have begun to draw closer to Christ, the issues of how we must reform our lives must be discussed. “It is from this proposition [of salvation in Christ] that the moral consequences then flow,” the Pope said.”

Isn’t this, shouldn’t this be obvious to all who are trully Christians? Where does grace come from to overcome any sin but from God to his children. Unless you are walking as a Christian the only important question is whether you will come to faith in God through Christ. IMPV

Posted by Paul on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 6:56 PM (EDT):

I get it….I think most caring Catholics get it. But I have to ask, who exactly was he speaking to?!?

I love our pope very much but I must admit a little frustration with this message. It’s just a little bit cliche’ for me. I mean does Project Rachel need to hear this from our pope, or Silent no More, Courage or the many dedicated Catholics in the Right to Life movement (my wife and I included).

I’m sorry but these are the truly “militant”. These people are the real fighters for Catholic (Christian) values in our modern pluralistic society. I have never met even one of them who were so focused on these matters that they would not first talk about them in the context of the gospel message.

The popes words, even in context, is a veritable slap in the face to the efforts of these trench warriors for the faith.

Posted by Maria on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 6:45 PM (EDT):

I have never been more disillusioned than I have this past year. There has been more statements from the leadership that have confused me and felt maybe we are wrong as the Catholic church. I read the Pope’s interview and I can see the main stream media hijacking it but the Pope also never talked about moral absolutes, about sin or about repentence. Maybe we don’t need confession anymore, after all did he not say if we have a clear conscience we are okay. It is God’s to judge but if we wait until judgement couldn’t we be in hot water, no pun intended. People I work with and know have been posting and emailing “The Pope okays homosexuality” etc. Perceptions count and if the Pope did not want that to come across this way he could have prevented it. I truly am not sure where he stands.
Discouraged

Posted by Charles Lutz on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 6:43 PM (EDT):

“Ostentatious humility” of Pope Francis as posted by a previous poster is a great line.

Posted by Ian B on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 5:59 PM (EDT):

We can be so caught up in the work of God, that we fail to acknowledge the God of the work - Blessed Mother Teresa. Pope Francis is on to something and we should all be prepared to follow. When it comes to salvation we don’t bring our well versed arguments with us, but what we do bring is a personal love of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you love Christ you’ll love the Church. If you love the Church you’ll love what she teaches.

Posted by Mark Wilson on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 5:57 PM (EDT):

Pope Francis Has Single-Handedly Destroyed Catholicism

…or so you’d think if you got all your information about Catholicism from blog comboxes. This article is one of the best I’ve read on the topic. Go and read it. Here is a nice tid bit.

Of course, in every combox you find at least one person lamenting that the current Pope is destroying the Catholic Church. One example:

“This is doctrinal immodesty, if I may use the phrase. Rather than clothe the precious doctrine of the Body of Christ in garments of sobriety, modesty and Prudence, the truths of the Church are being sold away [by Pope Francis, presumably] cheaply to the moral perverts and enemies of Christ.”
I’m very curious what the commenter in question would have had to say about some of the Church’s earlier Popes:
Pope Stephen VI (896–897), who had his predecessor Pope Formosus exhumed, tried, de-fingered, briefly reburied, and thrown in the Tiber.
Pope John XII (955–964), who gave land to a mistress, murdered several people, and was killed by a man who caught him in bed with his wife.
Pope Benedict IX (1032–1044, 1045, 1047–1048), who “sold” the Papacy
Pope Boniface VIII (1294–1303), who is lampooned in Dante’s Divine Comedy
Pope Urban VI (1378–1389), who complained that he did not hear enough screaming when Cardinals who had conspired against him were tortured.
Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503), a Borgia, who was guilty of nepotism and whose unattended corpse swelled until it could barely fit in a coffin.
Pope Leo X (1513–1521), a spendthrift member of the Medici family who once spent 1/7 of his predecessors’ reserves on a single ceremony
Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), also a Medici, whose power-politicking with France, Spain, and Germany got Rome sacked.

I really think you should be the pope as you can express yourself with a clarity much greater than the present pontiff…8(

Posted by kieran on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 5:21 PM (EDT):

Jimmy, thank you for a balanced perspective on Pope Francis’ interview! Let’s stay calm everyone! Pope Francis is Peter, the head of our Church, and the Holy Spirit is working through him. One of the problems with the media “summary” of the interview, is that they misleadingly (and mischievously) associate statements that the Holy Father made at different moments of the interview - statements that Francis didn’t intend to be associated in that way at all. For example, at one point Francis says that the Church has sometimes locked itself up in small-minded rules. Francis then elaborates on this statement, stating that the principal job of the confessor is neither to be rigorous NOR lax regarding rules. His primary focus must not be rules at all but the proclamation to the sinner that Christ has saved you. Later on, Francis says that the Church’s proclamation cannot be CONFINED to abortion, gay marriage and contraception. (“We cannot insist ONLY on issues related to gay marriage, abortion, and contraception”). But what does the mainstream media do? They collapse these two statements into each other (even though they are separated in the interview by about EIGHT HUNDRED WORDS!), and print headlines like, “Pope says that the church must not be fixated with narrow minded rules regarding abortion, gay marriage and contraception”.
It is patently clear that Pope Francis wished to say something of a completely different sort! His reference to rules was a challenge to confessors (and the church in general) to focus on proclaiming God’s mercy, instead of being preoccupied (which is often the case) with the material details, frequency, etc., of the offences committed by the sinner. His reference to abortion, contraception and gay marriage (which, I repeat, came eight hundred words later) was to make the point that the church’s moral teaching much be proclaimed in the CONTEXT of the more fundamental proclamation of the Good News itself. At no point did he say that these teachings were trivial or inappropriate. All he did was make the same perfectly valid point that we find in John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae - that the Good News about Jesus is the correct context in which the Church’s moral doctrines about life and marriage make fullest sense.
Keep up the good work Jimmy! Keep steadying the wobbly knees!

Posted by chris awo on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 5:20 PM (EDT):

‘But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.’
(cf Galatians 1)
.
‘10 Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.’
(cf Galatians 1)

Posted by Rob B. on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 5:05 PM (EDT):

@Ernst—Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. I’ll trust in the Holy Spirit over the complaints of naysayers like yourself any day.

Posted by Daphne Plemons on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 5:01 PM (EDT):

We should be more visible with helping the poor and fighting for social justice for all people, especially those who cannot help themselves. There are so many needs in our society not being met. We expect our government to do everything, then disapprove of the way they do it. So many problems could be avoided with personal interaction, not donations, not marches. Our arrogance is astounding, we know exactly what God wants, but have you ever physically fed the homeless, taken in an abused child, provided a safe house for a child of alcoholics? Pope Francis is right, our focus should be on the needs of the poor and social justice.

Posted by Ross H. on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 4:59 PM (EDT):

When the Holy Father challenged the youth in Rio to “make a mess” he meant it. This was more than a challenge to those attending Word Youth Day; it was meant for the entire Church. And…we will do it. This is only the beginning. I loved reading his comment that he is not a “right-winger”.

Posted by Phil on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 4:28 PM (EDT):

As one who has for many years prayed and counseled in front of abortion mills, I get the popes message. The genocide continues unabated, people are increasingly less civil,and there and in the work place, watching TV, living life, it is apparent that the world at (an accelerating pace) has not only forgotten the love of God, but has lost belief in Him altogether.

It is also evident that our government (both parties) are corrupt, self serving and interested in maintaining their power and have very little interest in life, family, or divine issues. We are where we are on life and marriage, and while we will keep trying to push our elected representatives, it seems unlikely that any political movement can fix our corrupt government.

So like the pope, I have been convinced for some time now that the solution to the genocide is a reawakening of God’s presence and His love. I believe it may take the heavy hand of God to reawaken us,but I do see and believe that the popes message is in fact the one human path.

That said, his message was disappointing from at least two angles. One, by saying what he did, he is in essence seemingly parroting the fallen away Catholics - “The church is not a place of love.” I have attended many loving and attentive Catholic Churches, but he seems to use a paint brush to characterize and support an offensive stereotype that is largely not true. We can and need to be better, but it’s a caricature that is an excuse used by those who do not want to submit to God’s teachings, and not a true picture of our Churches (once one chooses to be involved and to get to know their pew-mates.)

Second problem is there is no meat on the bone. As another poster pointed out, many of our priests preach on “love, love, love.” What they don’t teach is what real love means as we live out our faith i.e. how the love needs to manifest itself in very specific actions. Most priests can get behind spending time at a food bank, but that’s about their limit. God’s love is manifested as we live the faith in our home, work and shopping malls, so how about finally teaching the faith (as Bishop Sheen once did) without apology or hesitation and tell us what that means in some very specific formation and translate it into actions (including life and family issues.)

Until the Shepard’s are formed to teach the faith and all of the faith, his message will be a clanging gong to many. I am hopeful though that this is simply his introduction to the topic and that he will in fact put meat on the bones. We’ll see.

Posted by Scaevola on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 4:21 PM (EDT):

Fear, hatred and spite is what I see in this combox. Listen to the pope. Don’t blame him for the MSM taking him out of context—they have done this to his predecessors and will continue to do so as long as they are of the world. Don’t blame him for actually teaching the Gospel message of Christ’s salvific love. Don’t blame him for staying COMPLETELY orthodox on matters of Church doctrine and morals. Your irrational rejection of your father in faith, who was in fact appointed by God Himself through the agency of His hierarchy, far from showing his guilt of failure as pope, shows instead your need for radical interior conversion.
.
It is deeply disturbing that the words of love and humility coming from our papa are met with such animosity and loathing from his sons and daughters. Then again, Christ was rejected by His own people.

Posted by Anne Rice on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 4:20 PM (EDT):

I think many realize the Pope isn’t suggesting a change of doctrine at all. He’s changing the tone in a marvelous and generous way. I’m happy to see it. When I was a kid growing up in the 40’s and 50’s many Protestant denominations embraced divorce and remarriage. The Catholic Church refused to do so. And in a sense, they lost the popular battle over the matter. But the Church didn’t become obsessed with the issue and campaign in the public arena against other Christians embracing divorce and re marriage. We Catholics (I was one then) knew what we were expected to believe and we went on with life, focusing on many different moral and social issues. I think Pope Francis is asking for this approach now; move on; stop obsessing over abortion, gay marriage and contraception. Look at other issues; look at the big picture. And I think it’s good. Really good.

Well, Pope Francis does suffer a reputation, with not just the conservatives but also the naive (my wife - :)), not because of what he said, but because how his words are being misinterpreted by the media. With Pope Benedict XVI, ardent ecumenists too had a similar problem, and again, not for what Pope actually said, but how his remarks were interpreted. See the link below:

As a Catholic from India, I see this is largely a problem in West, where any socio-political viewpoint is through the narrow lens of conservative-liberal divide. Catholic social/moral teaching too is seen from such a framework. It’s evident now, Pope Francis is becoming a tough nut to crack from that framework. Fortunately, Pope Francis knows the lingua franca of our modern culture, so the media and Pope would still know each other, even if Pope’s words are misinterpreted. Had it been a simplistic Asian or African Pope from a rural background, the Western intelligentsia could have been totally lost.

Posted by Julie on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 4:14 PM (EDT):

I have read all of the comments thus far and I think people need to read the actual interview, not the secular media. Of course secular media is going to spin it just as it spins all things Catholic. The actual interview was far mor about the nature of prayer and discernment and mercy. The “big three sins” talk was a part of the interview but certainly was not the primary thrust. What I haven’t heard anyone mention is the part where he discussed healing the wounds. There have been so many wounds inflicted upon the Church that there are those of us out her, faithful but wounded, who need tending. Perhaps he is concerned about restoring health to the faithful so that the faithful has the strength and endurance to bring the truths of the Gospel to those that do not understand. Has no one in this forum been wounded by the hierarchy of the very Church that we love. I feel hopeful with the example and preaching of Pope Francis and I believe with all that is in me that the Holy Spirit has this thing in hand. Let us not create division within our universal Church. Let us stand together and witness to the world.

Posted by Lea Black on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 4:09 PM (EDT):

Our Blessed Holy Father has incredible wisdom. His delivery of the Church teachings is always gentle, while direct, but never in a manner of scolding and condemnation, but if mercy and forgiveness through our Lord. He is correct, of course in saying this is the most important role of our Church. Not the focus on sin, but rather the healing of it!
I love him very much and I am proud to be in his fold!

Posted by Frater Bovious on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 4:02 PM (EDT):

Thanks Jimmy for your calm and coherent exposition. I think Pope Francis’s battlefield hospital analogy is perfect. Abortion, contraception and gay marriage are symptoms of a wounded humanity. They are however far from the only symptoms. Human trafficking, murder, war, pride, the list goes on an on. I remember a scene in a war movie where a wounded soldier was having his leg attended to - only for the poor medic to realize that the soldier had a much more deadly wound to the gut.

Pope Francis wants to get at the root problem - which bluntly is our broken and wounded nature. He is focused on the mystery of salvation, and wants us wounded to know about the reality of that salvation. There is a cure, he is saying, to what many think is an incurable condition. That’s a very smart starting point.

Posted by Kathleen on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:58 PM (EDT):

Thank God Pope Francis said this. In America, for so long, we seemed to have only one issue , abortion, while no one ever mentions all the teachings of Holy Church. He is a breath of fresh air! The tea party has hijacked our Church on this one issue. Everything else they stand for goes against Catholic teachings!
Make no mistake that I am for abortions, I am not! I personally survived two abortions in utero. My mother was on her way back for a 3rd abortion when my grandmother found out about it. She put a stop to that crap ASAP!!!

Our beloved Pope Francis is teaching the teachings of the catholic church, he does not say that the act is okay but you must love that person. Mortal sins are a mortal sin not matter which one it is. The churches teaching is solid as a rock. We all sin, but some of us know when we do and try to amend for that, we just keep trying even though we fail time and time again. Some people are taking this all wrong, because the news media doesn’t tell all only their way to sell news.

Posted by Charles Lutz on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:41 PM (EDT):

It is not only what is in the Pope’s interview , but also what is not in: the Jesuit martyrs (Brebeuf, Garnier, etc),the “gay” oriented Jesuit university campi as problematic—the permanent nature of marriage vows,the need for frequent confession, the necessity of proper disposition before communion,real (and not “creative”)chastity in the Gospel: “...if you only look at a woman with impure intent…” the grave scandal of pedophilie in the Church, acknowledging the presence of a “gay” lobby, recognizing the ongoing persecution of Christians, taking into account the inimical nature of Islam towards Christianity, et caetera. I need to read the text again, I am sure a few more of these gems could be found.

Posted by Ernst Thalmann on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:35 PM (EDT):

Until now, the sole hope for the Catholic Church resided in there being a reliable pope and in dependence upon his overall direction of the Church. One could hardly have placed hope in local parish fellowship since that is utterly non-existent. Now, however, we have neither and its time to look for the exits.

Posted by Nancy Janzen on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:28 PM (EDT):

Michelle on my way home to the Catholic Church I have gone through Baptist, Presbyterian, Evangelical full Gospel, and non denominational. I have been very welcomed and had some lively Bible discussions but there are at present 40,000 different interpretations of the same 66 books of the Bible. No 2 Baptist churches even agree. I shudder to think how many interpretations there would be if you had kept the other 7 books none of you bother to read. I have been saved, converted, convicted and prayed over. But when I in my desperation asked Jesus to reform me. To take my hand and lead me he pushed me into Total Consecration to Him through his mother. Now I live in a very Hispanic parish with a priest who is primary in Spanish but the devotional life of the parish brings the presence of God to a level that you would not understand because I fear it is a “Catholic” thing or maybe a Polish thing that goes beyond reading the Bible to opening your soul to receive God in the depths of your being. Understanding the faith is a vital necessity but from the devotional life even the catechism can become spiritual reading especially the part about Catholic morality.

Posted by Jeff Lea on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:25 PM (EDT):

Thank God for Good Pope Francis. Not since Good Pope John XXIII have we had a Pope so close to Christ’s teachings as is our current Pontif. After 30 years of right-wing politicizing of the church he now wants to put it back to Christ’s mission, not the Republican party’s. I know that will upset all those newly-minted “conservative” Catholics who thought they now got to play with the big boys in government by abandoningg 99% of Catholic social teaching, but I’m glad to see we are now seeing the Pope call for an end to their distortion of the Catholic message. Long Live this Pope!

Posted by Michael on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:22 PM (EDT):

So the central message of the Church and the Gospels is Jesus Christ, love and salvation? OK, now what? I need a few more details to know what we are supposed to do now that we haven’t been doing before.

Posted by Karen Karbowski on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:18 PM (EDT):

Michele,
It’s apparent that you’re not ‘getting’ something from the Catholic Church. You’ve used a lot of words and took the time to visit a Catholic website. I’m hoping you’ll also spend some time to voice your concerns to those (priest, deacon, lay minister, etc.) that could assist you in realizing that you give to the Church instead of take, then you receive innumerable blessings!
Getters don’t get, givers get :)

Posted by Nancy Janzen on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:11 PM (EDT):

If Catholics did what Benedict asked them to last year they would by now have read the entire Catechism, the 16 documents or at least the 3 dogmatic constitutions of Vatican II, and the Bible. If they had done that they would not be spinning in the wind every time the secular media tries to spin the speeches of the Pope. They would be able to understand what he said from the heart of Church teachings. Of course it would really help if they would quit being lazy and just reading the secular headlines and reacting to that. People we are in a cultural war your knowledge of the faith is your weapon get armed.

Posted by gghd on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:10 PM (EDT):

Jesus Christ created the Catholic Church to ~help people become Holy & make it into Heaven.~ ..... Thank God for all our Priests that remind us Catholics: It’s NOT our vocation to slam the Church doors closed in anyone’s face! = ALL are welcomed.

Posted by Angela Jeronimo on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 3:03 PM (EDT):

It is amazing to see everyone get all threatened by what Pope Francis is saying. Of course, he will have to eventually curb some of his interviews with the press as he has to learn by what he is going through, but think of Jesus. How did the Pharisees and Scribes react when Jesus came among them. He was so different. Jesus’ style was so different. Jesus is shaking us up out of our morass. We, particularly americans tend to think in black and white and if something is too different then it must be bad. We prayed for the Holy Spirit and we were given the man for the church and the world. Pray for him as he is a deeply spiritual man and he loves Our Lady. Why are we so afraid to really listen to what the pope is saying. I, for one, was surprised intially when he started his papacy. But I have read many books about him and I am beginning to see that he comes from a different culture and he is teaching us and this is from the Holy Spirit. I trust Mary who I believe is giving us someone who is very devoted to her and his son. Unfortunately, we become afraid of what change will look like. His focus is broader and from the looks of where our culture is, we need this pope now more than ever. Don’t be afraid. God is with us. Open up our hearts to allow Jesus to tranform and we will transform the world.

Posted by pay on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:58 PM (EDT):

Are we returning to a 1970s style faith? One with no catechesis. Simple slogans without substance? God is love and love is God? While true how that is conveyed can be good or bad. Deep or shallow.

Is it news that we must love others? I say no. That is well known. Is it news why certain acts are bad? Yes, that is not known. People cannot even name the 10 commandments. Most have not even a basic knowledge of the faith yet we are too legalistic? How that even possible?

Posted by Stilbelieve on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:53 PM (EDT):

“These moral consequences include the Church’s teaching on abortion, homosexuality and contraception. Pope Francis accepts the Church’s teachings and said that they need to be discussed in context of the larger message of salvation through Christ.” Pope Francis

I agree. But even more important to the “larger message of salvation through Christ,” I think is, do you believe what you say you believe; do you believe what you pray for in the only prayer Jesus ever taught us; and do you obey the Greatest Commandment which Jesus says is: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Mt. 22; 36).” Is your word – good? Does your “yes” mean yes; does your “no” mean no (Mt. 5; 37)? When you say you believe God is the creator of life – do you really believe it?

Then…do your actions match your words?

Posted by patrick oconnor on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:52 PM (EDT):

Well said Charles! The church is only being purified when persecuted and attacked! We must be obedient even to death if so called!

Posted by patrick oconnor on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:45 PM (EDT):

I LOVE YOU POPE FRANCIS! YOU ARE A TRUE VICAR OF CHRIST AND I WILL OBEY YOU! LOVE PATRICK MICHAEL OCONNOR YOUR LOWLY SERVANT

Posted by Ernst Thalmann on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:45 PM (EDT):

@Archon

Nicely expressed. I suspect that the next manifestation of humility will include a midnight New Year’s Eve appearance in Times Square as a homeless bum.

Posted by pay on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:45 PM (EDT):

A Pope is chosen by Cardinals. Whether or not the Cardinals are open to the HS is another issue. I do not think it is accurate to say the HS chooses the Pope. Our Lord has an ordaining will and a permitting will.

Posted by Charles Lewis on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:36 PM (EDT):

In one way this is simple. The Pope was chosen by the Holy Spirit, by God. So for those who are troubled or concerned about what he says try to remember that he is Christ’s shadow on Earth and not you. He is the Holy Father, infallible on issues of faith and morals - not you. Rather than react to what he says, as the media does because that is what we do - pray over his words and think with him. In the manner of Christ, Pope Francis is not here to make you comfortable or agree with you but to challenge us. Trust him and not your own thoughts on this. For crying out loud: He’s our pope.

Posted by patrick oconnor on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:31 PM (EDT):

by the way Michele. we always taught our kids how to behave in church so that they too could enjoy the worship! Humble yourself next time you get a dirty look you will be acting like Christ!!!!!!

Posted by patrick oconnor on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:29 PM (EDT):

We have something free Michele! THE EUCHARIST!!! does your Baptist church offer the body,blood,soul and divinity of Christ????????

Posted by Chris Fiama on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:28 PM (EDT):

Another day, another need to decode Francis’ comments, another need to bend over backwards to explain to everyone else “that’s not what he really meant.”

The man scares me.

Posted by eddie too on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:22 PM (EDT):

whatever else might happen in the Church, all will be fine for those who stick with, follow, peter’s successor.

Posted by pay on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:20 PM (EDT):

Charles Lewis,

I think you are quite correct.

Posted by patrick oconnor on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:20 PM (EDT):

do they have the body of Christ there Michele?

Posted by pay on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:18 PM (EDT):

Just so we can put this strategy to work when our kids are taught in school two men can be married and be in love and if you disagree you are a bigot should we speak up or not? If we do is that focusing too much on rules? What about laws that force Catholics to cooperate illicitly with evil? Speak up or wrong focus?

Those two examples are small and frequent.

Posted by Theresa on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:14 PM (EDT):

This pope is really worrying me. He seems to speak carelessly yet his words provoke upsetting reactions and a bevy of Vaticans come out to spin, frame, correct his comments. He consistently is controversial. I don’t get why the world and media are all gaga over Pope Francis. How can anyone compare him with the same brushstrokes of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI? I devoured their homilies, their words, their prayers, their guidance and grew in my faith through their leadership (and I’m still under 50!) But each time Pope Francis speaks I’m left reeling.

God’s word has withstood the test of time for thousands of years! It’s immutable and unmistakenably clear in its teachings. And that Bible will be around long after we die. It does not need to be defended because truth is truth.

I don’t believe in subjective morality that changes with the whims of society. It saddens me that this pope does.

Posted by Turley on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:10 PM (EDT):

Pope Francis is right. We need to focus on the message of salvation through our Lord and Savior. Everything else becomes redundant when compared to do that. The corporate whole of the entire Christian body has gotten away from that. We do have to be involved at all levels including government and engaging our culture as well. That is only part of the Great Commission. That is truly why the homosexual movement and other horrendous moral declinations have reached the crescendo they have. We are to be in the world, but not OF the world meaning we live here, but are not to partake of its evil. We all have so much learn to our Lord and Savior. It’s not about whether or not people can sing or whether they have daycare or not or some other thing going on. Those are all important to one’s life, but not in the hierarchy of true priorities. Just a few thoughts.

Posted by Ernst Thalmann on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:09 PM (EDT):

I know, its the media, right, Jimmy? It’s always the media, isn’t it? Why three times in as many months its been the media. You’ve entirely missed your calling, son. You should have been the editorial writer for Pravda explaining the 1939 Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact.

Posted by Linus on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:05 PM (EDT):

I think he is very confused. Perhaps he is thinking of something going on in Latin America. I certainly haven’t noticed that the local clergy have been concentrating on Sin, especially not on the ones he mentioned.

Besides didn’t God give us Ten Commandments as well as the Beatitudes. Christ preached both, so did the Apostles and the Disciples.

Perhaps he has in mind Pro-Life organizations in the U.S. and Canada. Are we to close shop, are we to stop addressing these issues in the public square?

He is loosing me. Sure you have to preach the Gospel, but that is far from empty of ” Dogma ” and Morality. I think he is wrong. Period. Surely people have a right to know, up front, what they are signing up for.

Linus

Posted by Carlos Lavastida on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:05 PM (EDT):

“I’m not sure all this love, love, love, blah, blah, blah is working”

Michelle, in seems they forgot to teach you the most basic tenet of faith of a christian:

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1John4:8

CL

Posted by Linda from Chicago on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 2:03 PM (EDT):

God Bless You Jimmy Akin for clearing this up for me in a concise manner. And I am grateful to God for leading people such as yourself to bring this news to all of us through the National Catholic Register. It is quite clear that the media in this country has there own agenda in reporting the news. I pray for them and for Political leaders to follow the Truth. I pray that they and all people seek the Truth, do not compromise the Truth and those in authority to not abuse the authority given to them. I agree with Pope Francis, wounds do have to heal. And the message needs to be clear that this is the time of Great Mercy. Jesus loves each and every one of us, he cannot push away what he has created out of love. God’s mercy is truly awesome and quite uncomprehesible to the human. This needs to be said. Yes, we must follow His Commandments, but we do fall and we need to know that He will always forgive us. And we must show that same Mercy to ourselves, our families, friends, co-workers no matter what. Thank you.

Posted by Cindy on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:59 PM (EDT):

Sadly, the media seems bent on mistakenly portraying Catholics as something we are not, whatever that may be at the moment. We’re a big target and the media is slinging its mud, hoping to hit their mark but they are misleading people who wrongly believe their filth and lies. By our actions and by staying true to the teachings of Christ, we will persevere and change their minds. Keep praying, brothers and sisters, lifting those who persecute us. We must be on the right path, why else would they be so determined to bring us down?

Posted by Dale on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:58 PM (EDT):

We need to pray for this Pope.

Posted by Will Salmon on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:58 PM (EDT):

You would expect the MSM to twist his words. I believe this approach is sound and pray it works.. Having been educated by Jesuits, I am not surprised. Jesuits have always had a big picture focus. God Bless Pope Francis.

Posted by Fr. Ramil Fajardo on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:45 PM (EDT):

Hi Jimmy,

Great analysis! You articulated what I think a lot of people are thinking - the Holy Father has a strategy, he has the broad view and perspective that we in the trenches don’t have.

And the Holy Spirit will always guide him, so rather than worry and speculate, I like what St. Padre Pio used to say: pray, hope and don’t worry. Besides, we have a lot of work to do, proclaim the kingdom of God here on earth, devils to drive out, hurts to heal and reconciliation to effect.

Thanks!

Posted by Ernst Thalmann on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:35 PM (EDT):

I know, its the media’s fault, isn’t it, Jimmy? Three times in as many months its been the media’s fault, hasn’t it? Is there a point that you get tired of apologizing for this man, Jimmy? You’ve missed your calling. You’d have had a splendid career in Soviet journalism explaining the Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact.

Posted by Thomas Petersen on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:25 PM (EDT):

The Pope needs to be careful in what he says, esp. to North America (& esp. to the USA) where Catholics here (and the general media) always seem to be looking for “loopholes” in Catholic teaching.

Posted by Ernst Thalmann on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:22 PM (EDT):

It’s the media’s fault, right, Jimmy? I get it. Its always the media’s fault, isn’t it? What is this, the third time in as many months you’ve made an fool of yourself apologizing for this man’s - how to be kind - motor mouth? Stalin would have loved you. You’d have been great justifying the Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact to the Communist Party faithful back in 1939.

Posted by Charles Lewis on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:21 PM (EDT):

I wouldn’t blame the media on this. Don’t expect secular media or even religious media to always get the nuances. I’ve been a religion reporter for more than six years and I think in this case the media got it mostly right. Remember, these comments from the pope come without explanation. But the Holy Father did say there needs to be a change in emphasis and so that’s what reporters had to work with. Most news editors don’t have the space or the time deal with highly detailed explanations. And reporters are often asked to write 1,000 words in less than a few hours. A newspaper story should only be a starting point. All readers free to read the Popes own words if they cared to.
Also, don’t judge a book by it’s cover or a news story by its headlines. Again, headline writers are not theologians or even Catholic or religious. Headlines are very hard to write. I’ve written my fair share and they’re never exactly right.
So give the hardworking media their due. Most of us try to do our best. I know that I do. BTW: I"m a Catholic and love our pope as I loved Benedict and JPII before him.
One last thing, I don’t think I saw anywhere any reporter jump to the conclusion that blessing of same-sex marriage is just around the bend.

Posted by Denny on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:17 PM (EDT):

No doubt, Our Holy Father is emphasizing the essential message which is Jesus. When we lose sight of Him, we can get lost in the weeds of sin. Once we become lost or tangled, it can be tough to know right from wrong, so we forget the essential message of the Gospel. If we get back to that central message, then we can more clearly recognize what sins are and why they are wrong. Then we can better resist ALL sin, not just a handful.

Posted by Robert A.Rowland on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:15 PM (EDT):

Pope Francis was careful to say the Catholic Church had not changed its doctrines so I hope he will forgive me for continuing with my same understanding of sin and its consequences. I have always accepted God’s judgment. It is not my job to judge anyone.

Posted by Mike Puglise on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 1:12 PM (EDT):

I am reading St Faustina’s “Divine Mercy.” The Pope’s interview greatly parallels some St. Faustina’s visions and insights. Yes, it appears the media ( secular) is twisting the context of the Pope’s words and intent. The devil must try to destroy our Church and its representative. Fr. Pac Wa (EWTN) once said it will be up to Catholics, true to the faith, to constantly be informed through spiritual readings and classes to know how to answer such questions from those attacking our faith by such tactics. We will be strong in our Faith.

Posted by Greg on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:50 PM (EDT):

How well today’s first reading matches all of that: “Whoever teaches something different
and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the religious teaching
is conceited, understanding nothing,
and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.” 1 Tm 6:2c-12

Posted by Marcus Vas on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:42 PM (EDT):

If the secular press follow the teachings of the Church, they will find that Pope Francis is implying that the Church will have to teach what Christ taught and not focus only on abortion, homosexuality and contraception which though very important, will be taken of when the world learns how to love Christ and follow all of His Church’s teachings. God Bless you dear Pope Francis.

Posted by Rob on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:41 PM (EDT):

Pope Francis has a kind, genuine and humble heart.
Sadly, I wish he would resign. He makes foolish statements.
He minimizes the TRUTH. I could give a royal rip that he wears simple robes, sleeps in a small apartment, or whatever else that makes people think
how wonderful and humble he is.
The problem is that Pope Francis is just so WRONG on issues of vital importance. As someone who is “in the fight,” all the time, in all manner
of methods, I am not about to accept these foolish statements as TRUTHS.
The pope is just flat-out wrong…AGAIN!!
I want to defend the guy. I want to be proud of him but his words and his actions are treasonous to the faith.

Please Pope Francis…Please resign.
You do not seem to realize there is a Heaven and a Hell.
You do not seem to realize the consequences of sin.
Cardinal Burke…Archbishop Chaput…We Need You.

Posted by Jeff on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:37 PM (EDT):

You don’t Baptize someone and then tell them, oh, by the way, abortion and homosexuality are wrong.

Posted by John on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:28 PM (EDT):

It seems to me that basically this pope has decided to provide zero support for Catholics who dedicate their efforts, time, and money to fight for the lives of the unborn by relegating this giant sized murder of millions of unborn to a secondary issue, EVEN inside the church. He then basically goes on to ignore giant assaults on family life such as same sex marriage, and again fails to address the need for these and other issues to be addressed from the pulpit, and even goes so far as to say it has reached some level of obsession. When in fact it is the total silence from the pulpits about these issues that is obsessive, these issues are rarely if ever addressed from any pulpit in my experience, the silence in the face of this evil is what is deafening and the fact that the pope does not get that is what is nuts. Yes, it is true people must hear the message of Jesus first, but the problem is that part 2 of the message AKA repentance is almost never addressed, there is NO call for anyone to repent from anything, even within the church among those at mass who supposedly are Catholic. What is more amazing is his criticism of people’s complaints for orthodoxy reaching the Vatican, where he says it should be dealt with at the local level - duh! They reach the Vatican precisely BECAUSE they are NOT dealt with at the local level. For all intents and purposes he signs off on the culture of death and leaves no real support for pro-life Catholics by relegating them and their cause to basically an annoyance for the church, even obsessively so. This in the face of near zero mentions about these assaults on life from almost every pulpit almost all the time. The obsession is for silence, the obsession is about the gigantic failure to catechize, the obsession is to always avoid any call to repent of sin, in fact the obsession is about nearly never speaking of sin or calling for repentance. The practice of the Faith, even among Catholics is poor because nobody wants to say the truth about sin or repentance, and nobody, the pope included, wants to talk about baby genocide. Maybe this new guy should take a page from Benedict and tender a resignation? Or else take a non-Jesuit class in how his statements can be spun to stick it to the flock he is so eager to pastor. As I see it, his concerns seem to be for everyone except those doing battle with the structures of evil, because apparently they are obsessive, too obsessive in the face of genocide. Right, let’s see how obsessive it would be if they were carting off priests starting with Bishops for a little genocide, I bet then there would be no such thing as obsession if you opposed that.

Posted by Christine on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:28 PM (EDT):

I don’t really read the secular news, but when I heard the Catholic blogosphere explode with reaction to the MSM’s reporting, as well as the from the interview itself, my first reaction was “oh no, what do he say now?!” Then I read the interview before I read any commentary on it. What I read was deeply disturbing, not from what Pope Francis actually said, but how Catholics were responding. From the “I was worried about him from the start” to “I want Benedict back” and ” that’s why popes should never give interviews” I was dismayed at how many “good” Catholics were so eager to turn away from the Vicar of Christ.
His words were hard to hear, especially the ones pertaining to abortion, contraception and homosexuality. However, the more I reflected on his words-all of them-the words of Christ kept resounding in my head “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
Pope Francis is again speaking against the church’s tendency toward legalism. He declares that we cannot go this route. We cannot put rules over mercy and love. Wasn’t this Jesus’s reprimand against the Pharisees as well? All too often, we are pulled toward this tendency; me included. So and so should be excommunicated, you can’t do this or that. Canon Law says…” We have so many armchair bishops in the laity, chastising people within the church and without for not following “the rules”. Are we not becoming Pharisees ourselves? We MUST return to the words of Jesus, not to theologians, not to Canon Law, not to bishops, ordained or not, not to the media, Catholic or not; but to Jesus. Rules are not entirely unimportant, but first comes MERCY, without preconditions. Jesus did not call the woman about to be stoned an adulterer, though she was one. He did not ask her if she was sorry or ashamed before he reached out to her-NO, he reached out in love and mercy first. He offered her forgiveness, without asking her to change her ways. It is this that Pope Francis and in fact it is Jesus who is asking us to do the same. Once we encounter Christ in mercy, we cannot return to our old sinful ways, and even if we do, he will continue to reach out to us in our sinfulness.
This is the age of Jesus’s unfathomable Divine Mercy. We must put mercy first. If this saying us too hard to listen to, we are free to go, but as Peter our first pope so clearly said, “to whom shall we go?” I plan on sticking with Jesus and his Pope, Francis.

Posted by Lisa on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:10 PM (EDT):

Jesus Christ proclaimed the gospel and spoke TRUTH TO ALL. He did not worry about stereotypes or His image. The gospel message is not an easy message and Christ allowed those to walk away; those who were not willing to change their lives and FOLLOW HIM ALL THE WAY TO THE CROSS. He did not dilute the gospel message to make it more inclusive or easier to swallow!
God Bless the Holy Roman Catholic Church against which the gates of hell shall not prevail!!

Posted by Francis Choudhury on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:09 PM (EDT):

Comments by Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, on Pope Francis’ recent interview, (just a couple of paragraphs from which have sparked sensationalized/misleading headlines around the world):

“Two paragraphs in Pope Francis’ important 12,000 word interview have been the focus of particular attention. He also emphasised the importance of not taking issues out of context.

The Holy Father is describing how many priests and bishops, including myself, carry out their ministry as teachers and healers.

Questions like abortion and homosexual practice involve very important human and scriptural values, and they need to be articulated clearly, sensitively and with a compassionate understanding of our weaknesses and struggles.

Essential Christian moral teachings need to be defended and explained when they are attacked. But we do not seek to harangue people about them every day. After Jesus saved the adulterous woman from stoning, he gently urged her to sin no more (John:8).

Important moral issues as they are, they are not central issues of faith, like the resurrection of Jesus or the love and mercy of God.

The Holy Father is calling our attention to the way truth is something lived in a relationship, first and foremost in a relationship with God.

Faith is foundational. With this great truth to rely on, God calls us to live a better life, helps us in our struggles, and through His forgiveness enables us to start again when we fail.

This is the message that we work to bring to people every day. I hope the Holy Father’s interview helps to make this clearer to everyone.”

(Cardinal Pell is one of a group of eight cardinals selected from around the world to advise the Pope on the reform of the Roman Curia and governance of the worldwide Church.)

Posted by mike romano on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:08 PM (EDT):

he is the pope who will finally put the documents of vatican II into practice. he said nothing new. i hope the people of god will not misinterpret what he said.

Posted by Bruce Prenosil on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:06 PM (EDT):

Thanks for the clarification.

Posted by lucy on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 12:03 PM (EDT):

Is that just not basic catechesis? To Know, Love , and Serve God. They have to know who and what Jesus and salvation are before these issues will ever make sense to them. Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments.
Maybe that is where the Pope sees the root of the problem, “the serious wounds”.
When I took Familia years ago to learn about the Church. The first lessons
Focused so much on contraception. Most of the people in class didn’t know the basics and why are we focusing on this? It was like it was the be all and end all issue in the church. It just seemed like the wrong approach and starting point, turned people off.
I think we will see many hearts burning and conversions and renewal under Pope Francs with this gentle and merciful approach. The “moral consequences”
Will flow and they will not be burdensome.

Posted by Archon on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:52 AM (EDT):

I hope the Unitarians are enjoying their new Pope. His apologists have been saying for months that the media are translating him poorly. And now the Jesuits themselves cannot figure out what he is saying. If every single utterance of the man is so easily misconstrued, it is perhaps time that he take his ostentatious humility back into the Vatican and reflect before he speaks again

Posted by schatzi on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:52 AM (EDT):

I was hesitant to consider a message of moral equivalency coming from our beloved Papa. Your commentary provides the balance that clarifies Pope Francis’ message without getting it tangled up in touchy-feely PC language so dear to the cafeteria corps.
Thanks Jimmy.

Posted by Dale on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:51 AM (EDT):

Perhaps if the Pope spoke like a leader in a clear way in the Word of God, so much time and painful effort would not have to be made spinning “what the Pope really meant.” It’s starting to seem like this Pope is more concerned how the culture views him than the Word of God. This can only lead to a great apostasy unless he can reverse this trend and be clear on the Word of God and not what man wants to hear.

Posted by Michele on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:49 AM (EDT):

I now attend a Baptist church on Sunday. There I get excellent Biblical exegesis, as well as sound teaching on matters of faith and morals. Also excellent singing from a jaw-droppingly good choir. After the Sunday service (which lasts an hour and a half or more, often letting out just in time for the next service to begin) I go to a Sunday Bible study class. My toddler grandchildren go to free day care. Those who do not want to have their children cared for by others bring their babies into the service and NEVER receive any dirty looks and are never told they should take their kids to the childcare. I have received both looks and nasty comments when attending Catholic Churches where NO childcare at all is provided, let alone absolutely FREE childcare, as is now the case at my very, very friendly Baptist church. My older grandchildren attend Sunday School classes after the sermon. If they were a little younger (still elementary age) they would go to Sunday School during the sermon (also free). My Bible study after the sermon goes for 1 1/2 hours and I was given a free workbook on my first day there, no questions asked about my level of commitment. My daughter in law (a cradle Catholic—attends the Wednesday evening Bible study classes and takes the kids. Again, free child care for the toddlers is provided as well as classes for the older kids, which they also attend.

I still go to confession on Saturday afternoon, followed by mass. I suffer through the atrocious singing, the 7 minute sermon which touches on nothing regarding faith or morals and includes minimal Biblical exegesis, but sounds something like this: “Love, love, love, blah, blah, blah, blah, Joke, love, love, love, joke, blah, blah, blah, money raising, money needed, love, love, blah, blah, money, love, joke, love, money, pray.” My grandkids went to the first of THREE required years of confirmation last year. They are sweet kids and gave minimal complaints, but it cost me $160 and they got absolutely nothing out of it. They were in the parking lot trick or treating with their little brothers and sisters on All Souls Eve instead of being at the mass which was going on concurrently. When I explained to them they needed to be at mass because this was a Holy Day of Obligation, they said, “what is a holy day of obligation?” My granddaughter, who volunteered to serve at the Thanksgiving Dinner, was yelled at by one of the organizers for not doing anything when she had not been given any instructions on what to do. She and all the servers were also given nothing at all to eat, not even a roll, and were told in the rudest possible way that they were not to even try to eat ANYTHING! So much for love, love, love, blah, blah, blah.

The first time my grandkids went—reluctantly—to the Baptist Church they said they could feel the love and friendliness surrounding them immediately. They said, and I quote, “You know how some people are fake nice? Well these people were really nice. You could just FEEL the love coming out of them.” They liked their Sunday school classes from the first day and wanted to go back, unlike the confirmation classes that they hated and found terribly boring and uninspiring and to which they only went because they felt they had to go (and from which they learned nothing about their faith, BTW, which I know because I was paying for the classes, so I talked with them to find out what they did and what they learned. Most “activities” were just listening to lectures while their minds wandered, but one of the typical activities was to work in a group to draw a picture showing various colors of clouds and trees, etc., and then to talk about how we were all like the colorful clouds, and rainbows and trees, each different, but each important to the whole. This was a HIGH SCHOOL CONFIRMATION CLASS!”

So what is my point? Well, I’m not sure all this love, love, love, blah, blah, blah is working. If people who regularly here a lengthy explanation (30-45 minutes) from their pastor of the meaning behind the bible’s words, including how those words relate to the “hard truths” our Lord speaks (and which the pastor freely admits are hard truths, talking to us about concupiscence and how eager we are to ignore those truths and go about our merry and sinful way)—if those people can be cheerful, full of welcoming joy and love, and can design programs that teenagers WANT to attend that involve deep study of the Bible, maybe they are on to something that we Catholics have lost sight of.

Just sayin’.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:44 AM (EDT):

I don’t get why the Pope called the Catholic Church’s position on conception, abortion & same sex-marriage ‘small-minded rules.’ These
are God’s laws, the Truth given to us in scripture. Nobody can change these rules—- not even the pope. We are entering the phase of the great ‘schism’ talked about through the centuries by so many saints. We will have to choose—the truth or false doctrines.

Posted by roberta on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:44 AM (EDT):

could it also be that in focusing on the freedom, peace, joy and love available to all in Christ, we focus on the beam in our eye and not on the splinter in the eye of another? what we, as Christians, do we do out of a love of Christ and God and a desire to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Those who do not believe cannot be so motivated, or inspired. First, they must believe. the rest flows therefrom. Papino mio! how inspired you are!

Posted by Don Scott on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:43 AM (EDT):

I just have a concern that by not clearly stating what the Church believes and teaches on these hot-button issues, he gives the media way too much leeway to interpret his remarks the way that they want to. We saw that with the famous “spirit of Vatican II” commentaries that led to confusion and widespread abuse in the Church. If the Holy Father doesn’t start clearly stating what he believes and the Church teaches, I can see the media, especially in this country, indulging in the “spirit of Pope Francis’s remarks” and causing much confusion even among Catholics as to what is sinful and what is not. I hope that he moves to quickly address the mis-conceptions that have already started.

Posted by sarah mac on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:42 AM (EDT):

I hope this helps…
God gave us 10 commandments, but the truth is there is just one: love the Lord your God above all else. The the other nine were given help us to answer the question: how are we supposed to love You above all else? Yet, without that first commandment, the other nine become a bit arbitrary. Why not steal, why not kill, why not lie? The answer of course being because we are to love God first and by follwoing these nine, we summarily end up following the first one.
The pope is doing something similar by saying the Church needs to focus on salvation, AND then we can talk about the things that are required for that. Because without the salvation part, who would care about loving each other as himself and worrying about unborn babies, etc.? So certainly don’t abandon the teachings on abortion, contraception, and gay marriage. Yet, let’s focus on salvation first, because without it, we’re essentially working backwards and those teachings start to look arbitrary.
It’s like teaching people how to read before proclaiming that they should read the Bible.

Posted by Sharon Hieter on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:37 AM (EDT):

Very well written, concisely explained. So many people are either excited because “this Pope is going to change things” or panicked because “this Pope is going to change things”. ; ) When his change is a greater focus on Jesus Christ - how can anyone find fault?

Posted by Carlos Lavastida on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:34 AM (EDT):

“He’s counting on the idea that the moral issues will be sorted out, in the long term, by a compelling proclamation of the Church’s central message: Jesus Christ.”

That is the gospel’s message; so far Francis is doing a good job of being a witness to its truth.

CL

Posted by Fallen on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:31 AM (EDT):

Once again this “pope” needs moral clarification in the “translations”.

I’m beyond blaming the media with this bilge. This guy is feeding them the moral relativism they desire. The fact that he constructs a philosophical dichotomy between Charity and Truth is in and of itself incredibly disturbing. When Truth has to take a rhetorical backseat to the sentimental feelings of the world - watch out. The hardness of Truth should never ever ever be sacrificed for the warm feelings of Charitable Love. Because that is NOT the way of the Holy Spirit.

“Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. 12As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words — go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” Matthew 10:11-15

Coming Persecutions.

“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end* will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!” - Matthew 10:16-25

This just goes to show - modern Jesuits make horrible Popes. That order is in dire need of cleansing.

Posted by patrick oconnor on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:28 AM (EDT):

I pray at an abortion mill every Saturday for 2 hrs with a group of 20 or more every week. I support Pope Francis and agree there is more to following Jesus than the Pro life movement or gay marriage. These are important issues and should not be ignored! But we should also strive to do the smaller things to be more like Christ! Like smiling at someone who needs a smile or not murmuring under your breath or shaking your head in disgust when someone offends you or another! Little things like these please God and make this a better world! try it you might just find yourself playing God!

Of course, the Pope is absolutely right to emphasise Christ’s love and mercy towards sinners. He is also correct in stating that God wishes to heal the deep wounds that are caused by sin and, indeed, cause us to sin further. It is in this light that we should interpret his comments: abortion, homosexual behaviour, and contraception are all sinful behaviour and are rooted in our woundedness (of original sin) but which also make the wounds deeper. We should seek to heal the wounds at their deepest level through God’s love and that of the Church but we should also refrain from making the wound worse through further sinning. A homosexual is a deeply wounded person who needs healing and pandering to homosexual behaviour would not bring about such a healing. Complete abstention from further sinning is the first step towards complete healing.

Posted by Ronald Cartlidge on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:18 AM (EDT):

Pope Francis has correctly re-focused the lens of the Church and as stated, time will tell if this strategy works; my inner gut tells me he is correct.

Posted by Larry on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:08 AM (EDT):

What concerns me most right now is that anyone in the public eye must have an acute sense of how his remarks MIGHT be distorted and misunderstood, and must craft his statements with that in mind. Francis seems to completely lack any such understanding, and this is leading to a dangerous situation whereby a growing number of faithful Catholics believe Francis is undercutting them by pandering to the Modernists—in effect, trying to get the enemies of the Church to like us even at the expense of distancing ourselves from our core beliefs. Like it or not, the distortions are being widely believed not only among the public but also the faithful. A small but growing number of orthodox Catholics is even alienated by him. Some of them are looking for just one more excuse to proclaim him a heretical antipope and to anoint Bishop Fellay of SSPX as the real successor to St. Peter. I hope and pray that someone whom Francis trusts will take him aside and explain the need for greater sagacity when dealing with the world’s media.

Posted by Mary II on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 11:05 AM (EDT):

I get what the Pope is saying but for those who are fighting for the unborn on a daily basis it is hard not to view this as discouraging. Satan lives off of abortion, there is nothing more innately diabolical in our culture, and it is the frontline of spiritual warfare. For the successor of Peter to not be fully engaged in this battle is disconcerting. It is hard to see abortion as a ‘lesser’ issue or a run of the mill sin. If all Catholics were on the same page and understood the teaching of the church, abortion would not be the law of the land. The way he phrased it - no matter what he actually said or meant - the ‘don’t judge me crowd’ is only going to be inspired to keep their stiff necks turned to God. It also makes it seems that trying to stop abortion, preserve marriage etc. isn’t done out of pure love for our fellow man and for children - to suggest that these causes are simply routed in doctrine and dogma or small minded is completely belittling.

The Pope views the Church as a field hospital while many of us are concerned with stopping the bloodshed and the number of wounded. If children, youth, Catholics in the pews were properly catechized in the fullness of the Faith and they would be able to properly evangelize and explain their Faith there wouldn’t be so many broken people out there to triage. The pro-lifer seeks to stop the mother and child from being damaged while the Pope seems to be more concerned with offering Christ’s forgiveness to those who have already had the abortion. Both paths are of equal importance.

Plus, add to the fact that for the past 30 years bishops and priests have only preached sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. There is no talk of sin, of communion with the church, of sacrifice. We can’t even get a routine prayer of the faithful for an end to abortion. The Jesus saves, Jesus loves you line is all that is being preached in the majority of American Catholic churches. I think in my lifetime I have heard maybe 4 homilies that address abortion, maybe 1 on contraception, maybe 1 on preserving marriage.

We all understand the church’s view on war - yet the Pope made a whole day of prayer and fasting dedicated to Syria…the Pope felt the need to act in that instance it is sad that he is not similarly inspired by the major culture war issues that could use his support. If the Pope had done a similar event to stop the abortion laws in Ireland what would have been the result…or at the very least said Catholic pols who vote are not in communion with the Church, or are risking their salvation it could have really made some progress.

Posted by Marcy K. on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:54 AM (EDT):

I think what the Pope said was a good thing on the whole. Yes, we can’t sit back while babies are dying, and the culture is pushing gay marriage down our collective throats, but the message of the salvation of Christ gets lost when in the Catholic media it is “all abortion, all contraception, all homosexuality, all the time.” Acting with compassion lets us get those who are gay, post-abortive, contraceptive, not to mention those who are adulterous, gluttonous, lustful and prideful into the Church where God can do his work. Hopefully we don’t get in His way.

Posted by Kathleen E. Feldman on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:53 AM (EDT):

I can see in a way where he is coming from. If one has the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ and truly follows Him, then all the moral absolutes will fall in place and follow. But, the Holy Father I fear is becoming a tool of the liberal media and “progressive” liberals in the Church, who will take his words and color them as something totally new and contrary to Church teaching.

Posted by clb on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:51 AM (EDT):

“Pope Francis seems determined to fight the stereotypes and media narratives by starving them of oxygen and returning the central focus to the proclamation of Jesus Christ and to the love and mercy of God.”

That may be his approach, but the approach is not working, at least not in the West. Rather, the central focus is becoming “Pope Francis says moral issues aren’t important and the Church needs to stop worrying about these things.” Clearly that’s not the message he wants to convey, but that is the message he is conveying. Granted, he has lots of help from a media that thrills in twisting what he says, but he’s making it very easy for them.

Posted by charles harmett on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:46 AM (EDT):

The pope should have said that abortion is gravely sinful and that he supports the efforts of Catholics who give their time and energy to pro-life organizations. What exactly is so difficult about saying something to that effect? Also could someone please explain the grand strategy of Pope Francis? I cannot figure it out but maybe someone has so therefore I would like to know.

Posted by Carlos Lavastida on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:42 AM (EDT):

Pope Francis’ strategy of focusing on the Church’s central message of salvation in Christ.. is a risky one.

So is christianity, which without risks it is just another form of pagan idolatry; the certainty of human ideology.

CL

Posted by John Kanty on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:36 AM (EDT):

I MISS POPE JOHN PAUL II AND POPE BENEDICT XVI ! Pope Francis should know that the secular media/liberal Catholics will take his comments and turn them around to meet their agendas. He should speak with clarity as did former Popes. I hear way too many parishoners say their priests dont even mention abortion or tradiditonal marriage in their homilies and it is the case in my area as well. so maybe Pope Francis should listen to the lay Catholics and hear their views and worries aboout the Church today.

Posted by charles harmett on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:29 AM (EDT):

Please don’t blame the secular press. They are looking for headlines and they are being given plenty. Abortion is not a small minded or narrow focus issue. Just ask those innocent souls who have been aborted or ask God himself. If Pope Francis wants a back to basics approach, then he could start by saying that all catholics need to go to mass on Sundays, pray the rosary often, etc… Notice, he never seems to talk about things such as that.

Posted by pay on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:28 AM (EDT):

You may be very correct with your analysis. And it is correct that we do not know if this position is the correct one or not. So far what we seem to have is that many think hey the Church has changed Her teachings. Now I can do what I want and God loves me. I fail to see that as a Gospel message though.

Posted by Dan on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:27 AM (EDT):

I am so happy to see a Pope that is focusing more on what is really important.

Posted by Andrew E. Malone on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:22 AM (EDT):

Thank you, Mr. Akin for allying my fears about Pope Francis’s interview. The level of betrayal I felt with reading the secular media’s reporting and the “progressive” wing of the American Catholic Church bordered on despair.

I will continue to pray for Pope Francis and the Church more.

Posted by Don on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:14 AM (EDT):

Thank you, Jimmy. Many of us are needing reassurance and perspective this morning. There is a LOT to digest in that interview. I encourage everyone to actually read it. A lot of it is going to be quite challenging, indeed shocking, for fans of JPII and BXVI. I tend to spout off too much without praying and discerning first. I am going to try to do less “reacting” and more “listening” over the next little while.

Posted by MarieJean on Friday, Sep 20, 2013 10:09 AM (EDT):

What a breath of fresh air reading PF’s interview. It feels like the Church windows have been opened again and the Spirit is allowed back in - like Vatican II. He has returned to the core message of the Gospel and set aside all the trappings of being obsessed with ideology, legalism and dogmatic statement.

““The Church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently. Proclamation in a missionary style focuses on the essentials, on the necessary things: This is also what fascinates and attracts more, what makes the heart burn, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus. We have to find a new balance; otherwise, even the moral edifice of the Church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel. The proposal of the Gospel must be more simple, profound, radiant. It is from this proposition that the moral consequences then flow.”

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